Card index tray and bottom stop therefor



Nov. 14, 1950 c. F. WOLTERS CARD INDEX TRAY AND BOTTOM STOP THEREFOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed May 20, 1943 a l w Nov. 14, 1950 c. F. WOLTERS CARD INDEX TRAY AND BOTTOM STOP THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed May 20,

Nov. 14, 1950 c. F. WOLTERS 2,529,987

CARD INDEX TRAY AND BOTTOM STOP THEREFOR Original Filed May 20, 1943 5 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 /4 INVENTOR U. 6 Carl F Walter's TTOREY Patented Nov. 14, 1950 CARD INDEX TRAYJAND :BOTTOMSTOP THEREFOR Carl F. 'Wolters, New Canaan, Conn., assignor to Remington-Rand Inc., Bufialo, 'N. 'Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application may 20, 1943, Serial No. 487,744. Divided and this application .Decem- .ber 27, 1946, Serial No. 718,762

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of cabinets for visible card indexes.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 487,744,'fi1ed May 20, 1943, Patent 2,423,919 dated July '15, 1947.

This invention comprehends the provision of a cabinet for visible card indexes constructed of wood or equivalentxmaterial for eliminating the use of metal.

This invention comprehends the construction of a wood cabinet for visible card indexes of a character wherein the cabinet is provided'with suitable guideways on the inside and partitions dividing the cabinet into a, plurality of compartments are constructed and arranged in a manner that the cabinet may be constructed at low cost While the guide and partition structures will cooperate to provide substantial strength in the cabinet structure for efiiciently mounting a plurality of cardindex trays for lidable movement into and out of the compartments in the cabinet. Side members on each tray are arranged to be guided in the guideways at the sides of the cabinet by guide strips in order that loads on the tray will be distributed directly to the sidewalls of the cabinet through the side members thereby providing for the use of relatively thinwood partition members in the cabinet as well as thin tray bottoms. Yet, the structure of the trays'in the cabinet is such by this arrangement of guide strips and guide members on the cabinet and trays respectively, that an efiicient structure which ,is strong and will withstand hard usage at least equal to that of metal cabinets for housingsimilar records is provided.

The invention includes the provision of .a wood tail-piece on the rear-end of each tray for slidable engagement in the guideways at opposite sides of the cabinet formedby the cooperation of the retaining strips and the partitions. Means on the rear end portion of the tail-piece is adapted to normally engage and cooperate with complementary parts on the forward ends of the guide strips to normally retain each tray in engaged relation against complete detachment from the cabinet when withdrawn from its compartment. The tail-piece is constructed with a beveled rear edge portion to provide for tilting in a manner that the retaining means thereon canbe disengaged from the complementary parts on the guide strips when it is desired to completely disengage a tray from the cabinet.

The invention provides a wooden tray structure for holding visible card indexes having the 'side members provide the main support with the rear ends arranged to receive a back member or stop 'i-n interlocked and transversely extending relation so that awood tail-piece may be hingedly connected to the rear-end of the tray by attachment'to the back stop and the rear ends of'the-side members.

'The invention comprehends the provision of a front member-connecting the front ends of the side members of eachcard-index tray arranged to provide-a handle and label holder for convenient gripping to operate the tray in slidable movement into and out of the cabinet. A Wooden bottom stop is arranged adjacent the front member in the tray for slidable movement along the bottom-of the tray in retaining a plurality of offset overlapped card holders in position in the tray with the' bottom stop retained in en- "gagedrelation with the tray by a pair of oppositely projected wooden slide members having "the'outer ends provided for interlocking engage- -ment with the side -members of the tray. The

"bottom stop has the slide members slidably :mounted therein in coaxial relation in a transversely extending channel and retained and limited in their sliding movement by means of a "resilientmember seated in a recess in said bottom stop in which the outward resilient projection of the slide members is limited by the wall portions of the bottom stop at the sides of the recess'receiving the resilient member. Suitable "means is provided for-"conveniently and manually net constructed'in accordance with the invention having portions at the top and bottom of the cabinet broken away and shown in cross section to illustratedetails of construction; the

uppermost tray in the cabinet being shown in "withdrawn position from its compartment 1 and 'the'lowermost traybeing shown "in partly with- 45 drawn position.

Fig. 2 is .a horizontal crosssection'taken on line2 2 of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a 'front elevation of the upper front end of the cabinet illustrating the front end of 'onetray' in "its housed position in the cabinet.

"Figl l is an enlarged fragmentary vertical v.cross sectioniillustrating details ofconstruction .of the cabinet .and showingthe tailepieces of QAth'r'ee, d'fferent L trays in different .positions relative to the stop means at the 'front of the cabi- 3 net to show how the tail-piece and the stop means cooperate to prevent complete detachment of a tray from the cabinet, and also how a tray may be detached from engagement with the cabinet.

Fig. is a detail fragmentary cross section of one upper corner of the cabinet taken on line 55 of Fig. 4 illustrating details of construction.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail cross section showing details of the cabinet corner construction at the lower front corner thereof, taken substantially on line 6--6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is a bottom plan view of the bottom stop illustrating the slide members manually operated into the retracted position for removal of the bottom stop from a tray.

Fig. 8 is a detailed cross section through one side of the tray taken substantially on line 88 of Fig. 2.

The cabinet is formed of a casing having a top wall I, side walls 2, rear wall 3 and a front facing structure indicated at 4. These side, top and rear walls are formed of wood boards or sheets, plywood having been found to be a very desirable material. These members are suitably assembled together to form a rigid casing structure by joints at the edges. Glue or other suitable cement may be used in uniting these members into rigid relation to form the casing.

Side walls 2 have the inner faces thereof formed to provide a plurality of spaced parallel grooves 5 opening through the inner faces and terminating at a distance from the front ends of the side walls as indicated at 6 in Fig. 4. The interior of the cabinet is divided into a plurality of tray compartments by transversely extending thin plywood partitions I having the side margins extending into groove 5 as shown in Fig. 5. A plurality of wood guide strips 8 are mounted against the inner faces of side walls 2 with the upper edges engaged with the lower faces of partitions 'I. These guide strips 8 have longitudinally extending ribs 9 projecting laterally therefrom into grooves 5 for cooperation to retain guide strips 8 rigidly in position on side walls 2 and also to retain partitions I engaged in groove 5. A suitable glue or cement may be used for uniting the edges of the partitions together with guide strips 8 including integral ribs 9 thereon to side walls 2 to form a rigid structure.

Guide strips 8 terminate at the lower edges in spaced relation above the upper face of the next partition below and cooperate to provide guide channels at opposite sides of the cabinet in each compartment. Stop pins I0 are secured in the front ends on each guide strip 8 as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 in inwardly extending relation from a point intermediate the upper and lower edges of the inner sides for a purpose that will be hereinafter described.

A connecting member II joins the front edges of side walls 2 at the bottom of the cabinet as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. Member II also provides a support for the front edge of the bottom partition I in the cabinet in the manner disclosed in Fig. 1. I

A plurality of trays are provided, one to slidably engage in each compartment in the casing. Each tray is formed of a pair of side members I2 arranged in spaced parallel relation and having a rabbeted lower edge portion indicated at I3 in Fig. 8 for receiving the marginal portion of tray bottom I4, formed of thin wood veneer or other suitable sheet material. Tray bottom I4 is suitably glued to side members I2. The

lower inner edges of side members I2 are also recessed at I5 longitudinally throughout their length to provide a groove in cooperation with tray bottom I4. The grooves of the side members face inwardly for receiving opposite ends of lugs on the ends of conventional card holders so that the card-holders may be slidably attached in the tray in a well-known manner.

A back member or back stop I6 extends across the rear end of the tray and has dovetailed connections at IT with the rear ends of side members I2. The lower portion of back stop I6 has the rear edge of tray bottom I4 suitably secured thereto by glue or the like, as shown in Fig. 4. Back stop I6 has a forwardlly projecting flange I8 at the upper edge thereof cooperating to provide a back stop for the card holders at the rear end of a series mounted in the tray including a top cover member so they are held in the groove formed between projection I8 and tray bottom I I, as shown in Fig. 4. The rear edge of back stop It is formed with a pair of rearwardly extending projections I9 forming hinge members in cooperation with the rear ends of side members I2, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. These hinge members are complementary to hinge members on the front edge of a tail-piece 20 formed of a block of wood. The hinge members of tail-piece 20 are pivotally connected to the rear end of the tray by a wooden pivot pin 2! interengaging in the hinge portions on tailpiece 26, back stop I6 and the rear ends of side members I2. Tail-piece 20 is formed of a suitable Wooden block or strip having the side edges slidably engaged in the guideways formed by guide strips 8, the thickness of tail-piece 20 being such that it substantially fills the space between a guide strip 8 and the partition below.

The tail-piece is freely slidable in the guide channels forwardly and rearwardly without binding, but is otherwise held against movement. The rear lower face of tail-piece 20 is formed with an inclined or beveled rear end or face 22 as shown in Fig. 4. Stop members 23 in the form 4 of metallic hooks are mounted on the upper face at the'rear edge of tail-piece 20 and at opposite sides thereof adjacent the inner faces of guide strips 8. Hooks 23 extend above .the guideways formed by guide strips 8 as clearly shown in Fig. 4, and are normally positioned in line with inwardly extending stop pins I0.

Each tray has a front member 24 formed of a transversely extending bar of wood having a larger cross-section than side members I2. Front member 24 extends transversely across the front end of the tray and has an interlocking joint connection at opposite ends with the front ends of side members I2. The lower rear edge of front member 24 is rabbeted at 25, see Fig. 4, for receiving the front edge of tray bottom I4'suitably cemented or otherwise secured thereto.

The front edge of front member 24 isformed with a downwardly facing front portion 26 and an upwardly facing front portion 2'! providing a pair of frontangle faces projecting outwardly and forming the front of the tray. The lower face 26 is formed with a recess 28 extending transversely across the front of the tray and longitudinally of member '24 to form said member into a hand grip or handle by which the tray may be operated. The upwardly facing portion 21 of front member 24 supports a label holder 29 for receiving an index label identifying the contents of the tray. j

The upper rear portion of front member 24is formed with in inclined face extending downwardly and rearwardly'as indicated at 30, to provide an inclined support for the lower free edges of card holders in the tray as illustrated in Fig. 4, and in continuation of the support provided by a bottom stop 32.

Bottom stop 32 is in the form of a wood block having a wedge-shape in cross-section as shown in Fig. 4, and is positionedin the front end of the tray. The front portion of bottom stop 32 has a vertical cross-section somewhat greater than the thickness of side members I2 in order that the forward upper face thereof will terminate in approximate registry with the rear lower edge of rear supporting face 3!) on front member as. From this forward edge the upper face of bottom stop 32 inclines rearwardly and downwardly to a sharp rear edge 33 for engaging end card holder 35% for holding it in position in a manner well-known in the art. The lower rear face of stop member 32 is provided with an inclined portion 35 to bring the sharp edge 33 in spaced relation above the upper surface of tray bottom it as shown in Fig. 4. This provides for the lugs on the end card holders engaging under the rear sharp edge 33 of bottom stop 32 so that the bottom stop will effectively hold the card holders in proper position in the tray at the front end.

Bottom stop 32 is provided with a transversely extending channel 35 of T-shape in cross-section as shown in Fig. 4 for slidably receiving a pair of slide members 3'! of T-shape in cross-section in channel 38 in end-to-end relation. The outer ends of each of the slide members 3? are provided with projections 38', see Fig. 8, for engaging in channels H5 at the sides of the tray in the outwardly projected position thereof for latching bottom stop 32 in attached relation in the tray against accidental displacement. Bottom stop 32 is provided with a pair of apertures 39 intersecting T-shaped channel 36 as shown in Figs. l and 7. These apertures 39 provide .finger openings by which slide members 37 can be operated through engaging the fingers in notches 46 cut in the forward edges thereof which normally register with openings 39 in a manner that shoulders are provided for manual engagement so slide members (if can be moved to have their ends retracted into abutting relation as illustrated in Fig. 7 for removing the bottom stop from the tray.

The bottom portion of bottom stop 32 is recessed as indicated at 4| for receiving and housing a metallic U-shaped resilient wire 42 having the ends engaged in recesses in the end portions of slide members 3? as shown in Fig. '7. The side portions of bottom stop 32 indicated at 43 provide stop shoulders against which the end portions of spring 42 engage in resiliently projecting slide members 3i outwardly for thereby limiting the outward sliding movement of members 37. Spring '32 having the ends engaged in slide members 313 also prevents disengagement of slide members 3? from the channel in bottom stop 32 when it is removed from the tray. Spring 42 therefore serves the purpose of projecting the slide members into latching position, limits their movement and prevents removal from the bottom stop by engaging the shoulders at opposite sides of the recess.

Bottom stop 32 may be readily inserted and removed from the front end of a tray in engagement with an end card holder in a manner shown in Fig. 4 so that the card holders are held against longitudinal sliding movement in the tray.

By grasping bottomistop 32 between two fingers engaged in. openings 39, the bottom-stopcan be readily removed'from the tray-when slide members Zil' are moved into the" position shown in Fig. '7 to disengage latch projections'38 o the endsthereof from channels H3. The bottom stop is also readily replaced in the traybyholding it in the same manner as abovedescribed during replacement, the sharp rear edge 33 being first inserted into engagement with the end card holder while the forward end of the bottom stop is subsequently moved into position in the tray. Upon releasing slide members 3'! spring 42 forces latch projections Bilunder slide members l2 into channels is so that the bottom stop is latched in position in the manner shown in Fig. 4. In thisposition bottom stop 32 forms a support for the forward card holders in the tray in conjunction with face 3!! of member 2 so that index cards carried thereby can have entries made thereon while supported on the upper face of the bottom stop.

The entire cabinet is made substantially of wood or wood veneer suitably cemented or glued together almost entirely eliminating the use of metal in the construction of the cabinet. Hooks 221,.1abe1 holder 2'3, spring 42 and a few screws used in assembling the cabinet constitute the only metal content in the cabinet. Yet, the cabinet is ragged and efficiently supports the trays in position for free sliding movement into and out of the cabinet for the normal use of the visible index records in the tray.

In operation, a tray is manually gripped by inserting the fingers in recess 23 of front member 24. The tray may then be pulled outwardly from the fully housed position in the cabinet as shown. in Figs. 1 and 4, until a tray and its connected tail-piece is pulled into a position where hooks 23 contact projections i0 on guide strips 8. In the forward motion of a tray the free upper ends of the hooks engage projections lfiin the manner illustrated in connection with the tail-piece shown on the bottom tray in the cabinet as illustrated in Fig. 4. Further forward movement causes the hook members 23 to fully engage projections I!) in the manner illustrated by the upper tray shown in Fig. 4. In this position the tray is supported in front of the cabinet for free swinging movement on the hinge connection with tail-piece 20 thereof and can be moved into a vertical position as shown in Fig. 4. This presents the visibly indexed records in the tray at the front of the cabinet for inspection or the entry of records in a manner well-known in the art.

Should it then become desirable to entirely detach the tray from the cabinet, this may be done by lifting the tray upwardly and moving the tailpiece with the tray rearwardly into the compartment to a sufficient extent that the free ends of hooks 23 will be disengaged and extend rearwardly of projections I0. Then by tilting tailpiece 29 upwardly at the front end where it is hingedly connected to the rear end of the tray, the tail-piece may have its rear inclined face 22 engaged with the upper surface of partition 1 forming the bottom of its compartment in the manner indicated at 50 in Fig. 4, when the free end of hooks 23 will clear projections I0 by being moved below and out of line therewith. In this position forward movement of tail-piece 20 will enable the tray and the tail-piece to be entirely detached from the cabinet.

To insert a detached tray into the cabinet, the tail-piece is moved into the position shown at 50 in Fig. 4 when it is moved rearwardly as indicated by the arrow until hooks 23 clear stop projections 19 and extend rearwardly thereof into the guide channels at the sides of the cabinet whereupon the tail-piece and the tray are guided by guide strips 8 in sliding movement back and forth in the cabinet between the forward and rear positions therein.

By having side members I2 engage between guide strips 8 in the guideways formed thereby at the sides of the cabinet with guide strips 8 providing additional support for partitions I at the side edges of the cabinet where side members I2 engage therewith, it is possible to provide a strong wooden visible cabinet structure in which the weight and forces applied to the tray are transmitted by side members I 2 directly to guide strips 8 and side walls 2 of the cabinet. This provides for the use of substantially thin veneer partitions 1 providing for economy in the use of space and yet providing for the construction of a wood cabinet having substantial strength and efficiency in carrying a plurality of visible index card holders and cards for convenient reference.

The construction of the front member and back stop also provides for efficiently retaining card holders in the tray and provides for the use of a substantially thin sheet of veneer to form a tray bottom so that a strong tray for efiiciently holding a series of card holders is provided by the cooperation of the side members, the front and rear members joined at the ends of the side members to form a rigid frame structure efficiently carrying the weight of the tray. The bottom stop also cooperates with the front member in retaining the card holders in position against longitudinal sliding movement in the tray and in supporting the front ends thereof. Yet, the bottom stop is readily removable to provide for the shifting and interchanging of card holders in a manner wellknown in the art in the operation of a visible index.

The invention claimed is:

In a card index tray having side members formed with longitudinal grooves adjacent the bottom inner edges opening inwardly, a solid non-metallic bottom stop having a wedge-shape in vertical longitudinal cross section, a transverse channel formed in the central bottom portion, a pair of spaced finger apertures intersecting said channel in transversely extending relation through said stop, a pair of slide members extending in end-to-end relation and slidably retained in said transverse channel having finger pieces formed therein normally located in said apertures for manual engagement to slide said members toward each other, said stop having a recess in the bottom thereof communicating with said transverse channel and a resilient member seated in said recess with opposite ends secured one to each slide member for normally projecting said slide members outwardly in opposite directions to engage the outer ends in the grooves in said side members for retaining said bottom stop in said tray, said resilient member retaining said slide members is assembled relation in said stop against removal and limiting outward sliding movement by engaging said stop at the sides of said recess.

CARL F. WOLTERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,118,165 Warren Nov. 24, 1914 2,178,638 Link Nov. 7, 1939 2,351,260 Hall June 13, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 232,003 Great Britain Apr. 16, 1925 594,072 France June 8, 1925 878,337 France Oct. 5, 1942 

